Veterans Affairs Committee on March 13th, 2012

[Colonel Douglas Briscoe, Executive Director, National Office, Commissionaires]

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

The return-to-work program is essentially a rehabilitation effort where disabled veterans come to us, and they're still members of the Canadian Forces. I think the thinking is that the sooner they're back in the work environment, the speedier their rehabilitation. The types of work we provide them are limited to what their abilities are. So if the disability is one that doesn't give them the ambulatory ability that they need, it may end up being clerical work.

To date, we have 33 members we've assisted in this fashion. The individual can make a decision as to whether he wants to continue on in the forces, or he can await the outcome of a medical decision made by a proper medical authority. We hope that if at some time they do decide to transition and leave the forces they would do so through us. We think we can provide a mechanism that would give them a safe landing, so to speak, back into society.

I hope this satisfies that question.

[Irene Mathyssen, NDP, London—Fanshawe, ON]

Thank you very much.

Madam Robinson, I noted in your brief that at the end you said you're watching very carefully the impacts the government's deficit reduction action plan may have. We are very concerned about that. We've raised that question a number of times.

You also say that based on analysis you're going to be exploring whether some administrative measures could be tailored to allow medically released members to maximize the value of their entitlements. I wonder if you could explain that, please.

[Anne-Marie Robinson]

Yes, two things. With respect to the deficit reduction action plan, once the government has made announcements about the changes or reductions that will be made to the public service, we'll have a better sense of the magnitude of those impacts. There will be a time where employees can make a certain number of decisions. Some affected employees will be deployed to vacant positions. Some will take retirement. There is some capacity for voluntary departure. This will likely happen within the first four months that someone is declared to have been affected, then in the fall, we will know the numbers of people who might go into the priority administration system. I'd be happy to come back to the committee at that time to share this information.

In respect of administrative measures, we're currently consulting with our partners. I will talk about case management as part of our evaluation. What we learned through that was that it's important to work closely with the veterans to ensure that we share information. We do this now, but I think we can do it better. Now that the program's been in place for four or five years, we can inform our people, on a more timely basis, about what jobs are available and what the impact will be on different occupations in different parts of the country. This way people will be able to make informed decisions.

Veterans have a five-year period in which to start their entitlement, so the more information they have about what's happening in the public service in general, the better we can equip them to make those decisions.

[The Chair, Conservative, Greg Kerr]

Thank you, Ms. Robinson.

Now we're to Ms. Adams.

[Eve Adams, Conservative, Mississauga—Brampton South, ON]

Thanks very much.

Mr. Sutherland, I'd like to commend you for the wonderful work you do in helping our armed forces to transition into civilian life. You mentioned that you place our veterans primarily in security fields. Are there any other fields, though, that you're placing them in?

[Col Bill Sutherland]

The security industry is more than just guarding. There is quite a range of security activities that we are placing veterans in.

I'm going to ask Paul to talk a little bit more about that. One of Paul's responsibilities is to coordinate the business aspects across the country.

[Capt(N) Paul Guindon]

We have developed several business lines over the years. Our core business is guard services, providing guards to federal, provincial, municipal, commercial, and private clients. We thoroughly believe in training: we train our workforce, and we provide that line of business to some of our competitors. We train guard forces.

We also have a full line of identification services. These include background verification—criminal, digital fingerprints, and pardon application processes. We also provide full security solutions. This includes threat-risk assessment on new, old, or planned facilities, as well as investigation services.

[Eve Adams, Conservative, Mississauga—Brampton South, ON]

Mr. Blakely, thank you for the extraordinary program that we announced and the wonderful partnership for Helmets to Hardhats. We're very proud of it, and I want to take this opportunity to thank you and your members for coming forward to provide this type of service to our veterans.

Could you elaborate on the types of incomes that vets who enter the construction field might expect to earn after their apprenticeships?

[Robert Blakely]

When someone starts an apprenticeship, he starts at half the journeyman's rate. If you live in my province, in Alberta, and you're a journeyman pipe fitter, your wage will be about $44 per hour, plus 10% for holiday pay, and there will be an $8 or $9 benefit package on top of that. You can make $150,000 per year without much difficulty. A first-year apprentice who is prepared to apply himself can make $75,000.

[Eve Adams, Conservative, Mississauga—Brampton South, ON]

How long does it generally take for somebody to work his way up to the $150,000 level?

[Robert Blakely]

It's a four-year apprenticeship for most trades. Some are three.

[Eve Adams, Conservative, Mississauga—Brampton South, ON]

That's truly remarkable. It's a very good income.

[Robert Blakely]

People have this idea that the only thing you need to know to be a plumber is that some things roll downhill and payday's on Thursday. It's actually wrong.

[A Voice]

Everything rolls downhill.

[Robert Blakely]

No, the trade secret is: don't chew your fingernails, but I'll have to kill you now that I've told you that one.

The truth of it is that our jobs are complex. We need people who are prepared to apply themselves. If someone is prepared to apply himself—and we wash out about 50% of the people who go into the first year of an apprenticeship—there are enormous rewards, both monetary and personal.

[The Chair, Conservative, Greg Kerr]

Be very brief.

[Eve Adams, Conservative, Mississauga—Brampton South, ON]

I would imagine, though, that your veteran population might not wash out to that extent. These are folks that have given an entire career to being dedicated.

[Robert Blakely]

The truth is the military veterans that we've brought in, we don't lose any of them.

[Eve Adams, Conservative, Mississauga—Brampton South, ON]

I would imagine.

Thank you, sir.

[The Chair, Conservative, Greg Kerr]

Thank you both very much.

We have Mr. Casey for four minutes.

[Sean Casey, Liberal, Charlottetown, PE]

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Back to you, Mr. Blakely, we are aware that the government has contributed $150,000 towards the development of a website. What other financial contribution has there been towards the program from the Department of Veterans Affairs?

[Robert Blakely]

The $150,000 is it. We have had some discussions with the Department of Veterans Affairs. Once we get the website up and once we get an executive director in place, we're going to sit down and talk about some potential for other programs. But until we're actually up and running, and can show something that looks like a program, we're not going to go and ask Veterans Affairs or anybody else to give us money. We'll fund that ourselves, with our employer partners.

[Sean Casey, Liberal, Charlottetown, PE]

So this much ballyhooed partnership is an injection of $150,000, and an agreement to cooperate later?

[Robert Blakely]

Well, you know what, it's more than precatory words, words in the sky. The Government of Alberta has stepped up with money, and the Governments of Ontario and New Brunswick are also talking about doing it, because they see it to their advantage to help bring people into apprenticeships. Although it may not appear that $150,000 is a lot of money, we actually established a partnership with the Government of Canada, which is something that, in the 142-year history of the building trades, never happened before.

[Sean Casey, Liberal, Charlottetown, PE]

Madam Robinson, I don't know whether you're aware, but in advance of this meeting we received a backgrounder from the Library of Parliament. Have you seen that?